Ciaran Morrison

Sat 18 April 2026 7:00, UK

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Liverpool should have tied Ibrahima Konate down to a new contract by now if they wanted the defender to remain at Anfield.

That is according to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking to Football Insider, as Konate’s future remains uncertain.

Konate’s contract at Liverpool will expire at the end of the season, meaning the 26-year-old will be allowed to leave for free.

The 26-year-old had interest from Real Madrid, but the Frenchman has been in talks with Liverpool over extending his time at the club.

Liverpool are expected to upgrade Konate’s contract to try and keep him at the club, with the Reds already set to lose Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah at the end of the season.

Expert ‘worried’ by Ibrahima Konate’s situation at Liverpool

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – states that there is one “sticking point” that needs to be resolved first between Konate and Liverpool.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness though believes the club are not “100% sure” whether they want to keep Konate.

He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Konate got himself back into form. He did start to become a very valuable player, but then, he suffered from the whole squad in terms of the way that they’ve underperformed.

“You can’t pin it on him specifically. There’s talk as to whether they’ve actually reached agreement. Apparently the sticking point is now the length of the contract. The agent, I’m sure, is still holding out for other clubs, claiming Real Madrid are still interested.

“He may have other options, but it would be best for him to stay at Liverpool if they can come to this agreement. But, there’s something just not sitting right about how this should have been done and handled. We’ve seen how Arsenal have handled deals quickly and got the contract deals over the line very quickly during the season.

“I don’t know why Liverpool are sticking for this one so long. These negotiations in an atmosphere that Liverpool are in right now, and the way things aren’t going right, makes it a little bit harder. If they really want him, they should have got it done. But, the player might be thinking, do I really want to stay here again?

“The longer it goes on, I’m surprised that they’re not resolving it. It just shows that people aren’t 100% sure on either side that this is what they want. That’s what would worry me if I was Chief Executive.”

Liverpool to block exit of young star

Liverpool also have no plans to allow Rio Ngumoha to leave the club this summer, sources have told Football Insider.

The 17-year-old has emerged as a star of the future at Anfield, but the Reds will block any loan offers that they receive for the forward.

With Salah leaving, Liverpool want Ngumoha to have a greater impact on the first team next season as the club rebuild the squad.

Ngumoha has already shown great promise on the left flank, and is set to lead the next generation of talent coming through at the club.